(Image: CHS)
In 2025, Seattle voters will be asked if they want to renew the program. First, they’ll need to decide which candidates should receive their Democracy Vouchers.
The $25 certificates for this year’s campaigns have been mailed to voters, the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission reports. In 2025, the program will support the widest field yet with candidates in the race for Seattle Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council Positions 2, 8, and 9 all eligible for the funding program.
November will bring an even larger decision as voters will be asked to renew the program hoped to help level the playing field and combat the power of big money in local elections.
In 2015, voters passed multiple campaign finance reforms which led to the birth of the vouchers. To fund the Democracy Voucher Program for a total of ten years, voters approved a new $3 million a year property tax. According to the city, the program costs the average homeowner around $8 per year, and properties involved include commercial, businesses, and residential facilities.
Under the program, candidates using vouchers to run for the eligible positions must agree to a fundraising cap. The cap can be lifted if an opponent or third-party political action committees spend more.
In the most recent race to represent District 3 on the council, Joy Hollingsworth received a total of 6,016 democracy vouchers, which reeled in $150,400 — about 70% of her total contributions. Her challenger Alex Hudson garnered 4,722 democracy vouchers that brought in $118,050 for her campaign efforts — also about 70% of her total.
But many D3 democracy vouchers never made it off the breakfast table. Only around 30,000 vouchers were collected in the 2023 races meaning tens of thousands of vouchers went unused.
Seattle voters receive four $25 democracy vouchers from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. From there, residents write down the name of their preferred candidate, the date, and their signature on the voucher. The vouchers can be given directly to the candidate’s campaign or mailed to the SEEC which is in charge of approving the completed vouchers.
The city advises disposing of unused democracy vouchers in the recycling bin.
Voters can also transition to an online voucher program to assign the certificates.
Any unused money rolls into the following election cycle.
City leaders have so far been quiet about what comes next for the vouchers but funding for the program comes up for renewal this year.
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Count me as a “no” vote. You can only use them for a very few races, and no one I ever feel enthusiastic about.
Plus, their availability has bloated the local races, with several people running because they can get the vouchers, and then squandering the money hiring their friends. I thought they were a good idea at first, but they’ve proved another wasteful boondoggle.
Democracy Voucher Program administration cost $6.4 million dollars to distribute $9.4 million dollars to campaigns 2016-2023. Capitol Hill had the city’s highest Democracy Voucher Program return rate in 2023 of 9.99%. Eastlake’s return rate was 5.47%. Homeowner-dominated neighborhoods typically produced 5% – 7% return rates while south end neighborhoods were more 3% – 4% return rates. I’ll be voting against renewal. I like the DV Program for creating early campaign organizing thresholds. But intention-corrupting harvesting of tax dollars is too unavoidable. In 2023, the DV Program made direct for-profit voucher harvesting illegal. But a work-around is inevitable. The DV Program hasn’t caused enough campaign change to justify the financial costs and risks.
You can always tell who is gonna finish in last place by who gets the most democracy vouchers.